Democracy, Everyday Life, Identities, Politics, Right watch

Stop This Insanity in the Name of Patriotism: Axom Nagarik Samaj

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Statement by AXOM NAGARIK SAMAJ on the targeting of minorities today

Are we witnessing a textbook case of fascist tendencies being practised in Assam? How long can a section of religious minorities will be subjected to all kinds of atrocities and humiliation by branding them as Bangladeshi foreigners? They are being harassed and humiliated all the time. We have been told time and again that they are the cause of all our evils and they are a threat to our existence. How can the victims turn into victors? What a classic case of distorted logic.

We had a six-year-long Assam movement to get rid of the Bangladeshi foreigners. Then overnight AASU turned into AGP and ruled Assam for ten long years. Thereafter came  the Congress government which ruled Assam for 15 years when the present chief minister was in charge of the implementation of the Assam Accord. Then there was that famous declaration of Modi that all Bangladeshi foreigners would have to leave Assam with their baggage by 16 May, 2014. Now the BJP has been in power for the last 10 years. Nothing happened. Instead, the CAA was brought in to grant citizenship to a section of linguistic minorities. Come any elections, blame the religious minorities and do all kinds of nasty things to them and use them to win the votes of the majority community. The brandishing a particular religion as a threat and criminalizing the religious minorities has become a well-known tactic of the Hindutva brigade. Now they are going to issue weapons to the indigenous people against the religious minorities. Have we seen any civil war-like situation anywhere in Assam? Then why do you have to do this? Why promote this communal hatred and create tension among the common people? It is heartening that the people in Assam have generally maintained peace, except for a few minor incidents here and there, and have remained calm while maintaining amity among themselves everywhere in the state.

We appeal to all right-thinking people including the Opposition political parties and civil society organizations to condemn and oppose this nefarious design of the ruling combine. 

Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, President Paresh Malakar, General Secretary

Axom Nagarik Samaj

Democracy, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Identities, Right watch

The Racist Conspiracy Theory of “White Genocide” and Trump’s Supposed “Ambush” of Cyril Ramaphosa

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Today happens to be Africa day and my friend Professor Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni reminds us in a social media post that Africa’s is still a liberation struggle, for “strategic natural resources (minerals. oil, and others) are on the soil of Africa but not yet in our hands.” Something of how Africa is still sought to be kept in subjugation was evident in Trump’s meeting with the South African President in the White House recently.

Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters, before the 2024 elections. Photo: EFF, courtesy Mail and Guardian

What happened in the White House meeting between POTUS Donald Trump and the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa three days ago was quite appalling even for a non-South African to watch. The whole thing was a repeat performance, but far more humiliating, of what Trump and JD Vance had done with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukranian President. This meeting is being described as Trumps’ “ambush” of Ramaphosa. What is more, timed with this ambush was a staged “arrival” of some 49 families – men, women and children – claiming to be “farmers” fleeing the “white genocide” in South Africa. They were welcomed by US officials at the airport saying things like “Welcome to the United States, the land of freedom. It is such a pleasure to welcome you here” and so on.

Continue reading The Racist Conspiracy Theory of “White Genocide” and Trump’s Supposed “Ambush” of Cyril Ramaphosa →
Democracy, Government, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

भारत-पाकिस्तान की तनातनी पर सीएफडी का वक्तव्य

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सिटीजन्स फॉर डेमोक्रेसी ने निम्नलिखित बयान 17 मई को नई दिल्ली में जारी किया।

सिटीजन्स फॉर डेमोक्रेसी ने पहलगाम में हुए भयानक आतंकी हमले के बाद अपनी चिंता व्यक्त की है कि यह हत्याकांड विश्व शांति के लिए खतरा है और इसके परिणाम स्वरूप, अंतर्राष्ट्रीय कानून के शासन में और अधिक गिरावट आने की संभावना है, इतना ही नहीं, भारत के  लोकतंत्र के लिए  भी गंभीर ख़तरा पैदा हुआ है।

पहलगाम में जो कुछ हुआ, वह निस्संदेह राजनीतिक उद्देश्यों को प्राप्त करने के लिए आतंक का उपयोग था और स्थानीय कश्मीरी मुसलमानों के नेतृत्व में भारतीय आबादी के सभी वर्गों ने इसकी निंदा की। कश्मीरी मुसलमान पीड़ितों की सहायता के लिए आगे आए और इस कृत्य के खिलाफ बड़े पैमाने पर प्रदर्शन किए। हालाँकि, भारत सरकार की प्रतिक्रिया न तो संयमित थी और न ही संतुलित थी, बल्कि सत्तारूढ़ भारतीय जनता पार्टी और संघ परिवार की विचारधारा और घरेलू राजनीतिक उद्देश्यों से प्रेरित थी। हालाँकि प्रधान मंत्री  सऊदी अरब की अपनी यात्रा  अधूरी छोड़ कर  वापस आ गए, लेकिन सरकार द्वारा बुलाई गई सभी दलों की बैठक में उपस्थित नहीं रहे। सर्वदलीय बैठक में पहलगाम में हुई सुरक्षा चूक के बारे में खुल कर जानकारी नहीं दी गई, न ही जांच की कोई रूपरेखा घोषित की गई। दोष का ठीकरा तुरंत पाकिस्तान पर फोड़ा गया, साथ ही सिंधु जल संधि को स्थगित करने जैसी कार्रवाई की गई, जिससे कुछ आतंकवादियों की कथित हरकतों के लिए सभी पाकिस्तानी लोगों को सामूहिक सजा दी गई। संयुक्त राष्ट्र सुरक्षा परिषद में पेश करने के लिए आतंकवादी हमले में पाकिस्तान की साँठगाँठ के  कोई ठोस सबूत जुटाने का प्रयास नहीं किया गया।

Continue reading भारत-पाकिस्तान की तनातनी पर सीएफडी का वक्तव्य →
Feminism, Government, Left watch, Movements, Politics, Public health

The Denigration of Women Workers Fuels State Neglect: Complaint Against the CITU (Kerala) to the WFTU

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Attention:
General Secretary, WFTU secretariat@wftucentral.org
Women’s Committee women@wftucentral.org
Asia Pacific Regional Office wftuasiapacific@gmail.com; c.srikumaraidef@gmail.com


Subject:
Complaint against CITU and AITUC (Kerala, India) for their sexist remarks and non-cooperation with
KAHWA women workers in violation of WFTU Constitution


Reference (WFTU Constitution):

Continue reading The Denigration of Women Workers Fuels State Neglect: Complaint Against the CITU (Kerala) to the WFTU →
Democracy, Government, Violence/Conflict

Statement on India-Pakistan hostilities by Citizens for Democracy

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The following statement issued by the Citizens for Democracy in New Delhi on 17 May 2025 on the war and its aftermath.

Citizens for Democracy expresses its alarm at the aftermath of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, which endangers world peace and leads to further breakdown in the rule of international law, as well as poses a further threat to democracy within India itself.

What happened in Pahalgam was undoubtedly the use of terror to achieve political objectives and it was rightly condemned by all sections of the Indian population, led by local Kashmiri Muslims themselves, who rushed to the aid of the victims and held huge demonstrations against the act. The response of the Government of India was, however, neither measured nor balanced, but was dictated by the ideology and domestic political objectives of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar. Though the Prime Minister cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and rushed back, he did not address the meeting of all parties that was convened by the government itself. In the all-party meeting, the major security lapses in Pahalgam which allowed the terror attack to happen were not adequately explained, nor was any modality of enquiry announced. The finger of blame was immediately pointed at Pakistan, along with actions like putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, thereby inflicting collective punishment on all Pakistani people for the purported action of a few terrorists. No effort was made to gather hard evidence to show the Pakistani state’s involvement in the terror attack and present to the UN Security Council.

Continue reading Statement on India-Pakistan hostilities by Citizens for Democracy →
Culture, Debates, Democracy, Education, Government, Religion, Right watch

UP: Ramayana, Vedic Workshops in Govt Schools Challenged

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Why the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s move of using public funds for imparting religious instruction violates Article 28 of the Constitution.

Representational Image. Image Courtesy: Pexels

“No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State Funds” unless “established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution”. (Article 28 of the Indian Constitution)

It has been more than 75 years since the founding fathers (and mothers) of the Constitution took this bold stand when they were shaping the guidelines around which the newly independent country would move forward. ..

…..Much water has flown down the Ganges, the Jamuna and all rivers of the country and it appears that slowly, but not so silently, attempts are on to water down the provisions of this Article and facilitating religious instruction in government schools through the back door.

The manner in which Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh has suddenly decided to hold summer workshops on the Ramayana and the Vedas in government schools across the state, without any broader consultation with the stakeholders involved in this endeavour, is symptomatic of the brazen attitude of the government. We are told that these workshops will be organised under the aegis of the International Ramayana and Vedic Research Institute, Ayodhya, and will include activities, like Ramlila, Ramcharitmanas recitation, Vedic chanting, painting, and mask-making.

As expected, this retrograde move by the Yogi government has generated anger among the broad masses as well as concerned citizens, who have demanded that this move be immediately rescinded. ( Read the full article here : https://www.newsclick.in/ramayana-vedic-workshops-govt-schools-challenged )

Culture, Debates, Democracy, Government, Islamophobia, Right watch

Two Minute Silence for Amir Pathan!

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Life in Latur, a city in Maharashtra, known for its historical monuments is normal again. There was little commotion more than ten days back in one part of the city following the suicide of a senior executive with a telecom company who had resorted to this extreme step a day after a road rage incident when he allegedly faced communal slurs. Looking back what followed on that day was nothing unusual by Indian standards. ( Read the rest of the article here : https://countercurrents.org/2025/05/two-minute-silence-for-amir-pathan/)

””””””””””””””

आमिर पठान के लिए दो मिनट का मौन !
Culture, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

The Troll Army’s Inglorious War: Alok Ranjan

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Guest post by ALOK RANJAN

Image courtesy Satish Acharya

Given its organizational form and nourishment, it is difficult to imagine that the troll machine can genuinely feel. But it has been trained in demonstrations of outrage. One section of the online machine felt betrayed by the declaration of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Shocked by the ‘premature’ end of what was desired as a ‘decisive’ war, it lamented that the background conditions of an avenging solidarity and armed forces’ bravery were left under-utilised as Pakistan remained one nation, unlike its split during Indira Gandhi’s time in 1971.  

Continue reading The Troll Army’s Inglorious War: Alok Ranjan →
Feminism, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Urgent Call for Peace by Indian and Pakistani Feminists​

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The ceasefire is just the first step in the long walk to justice and peace​

In a show of historic cross-border feminist solidarity for peace, over 10 organizations and approximately 1000 people have come together to issue a powerful statement calling for immediate de-escalation, dialogue, and justice in the wake of renewed hostilities between the two nations. The signatories include feminists, peace activists, artists, journalists, academics, students, grassroots organizers and  other professionals from India and Pakistan.

11 May 2025

We, feminists from India and Pakistan, unequivocally welcome the ceasefire declared by our two nations today. The tension and escalation of the last fortnight remind us of how fragile peace is. The ceasefire is also a vindication of calls for de-escalation and peace by lakhs of ordinary people on both sides of the border. Even as we hope this indicates an absolute cessation of hostilities, we recall the recent events. 

We condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 25 tourists visiting Kashmir from different parts of India and one from Nepal. One local person also lost his life in the Pahalgam attack. The targeted attacks deepened the communal divide between Muslims and Hindus in India and were exploited to incite hatred, fear, and calls for collective punishment.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, it is the women—including as mothers, daughters, sisters, wives—who are left holding the unbearable weight of grief. Instead of respecting and sharing it, it has been weaponized and policed—especially when it refuses to follow the script of hate. Himanshi Narwal, the young widow of one of the slain victims, was among the survivors who amid unimaginable pain still found the strength to appeal for peace. She asked people not to direct their rage against Kashmiris and Muslims who, like her, are trapped in a cycle of violence they did not create. For that simple act of humanity, she has been trolled, vilified, and attacked by chest-thumping nationalists more committed to blood lust than truth. 

Continue reading Urgent Call for Peace by Indian and Pakistani Feminists​ →
Culture, Debates, Education, Law

Why a 3-Year-Old Child’s Death Will Haunt us For a Long Time

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Keeping aside disagreement about customs like ‘Santhara’, one can at least agree that only an adult can make a decision to opt for death voluntarily in times of sickness.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)

French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer

Namrata (name changed), the three-year-old daughter of IT professionals from Indore, is dead.

She had brain tumour which was successfully operated upon in January in Mumbai but it relapsed in March, and within less than a week, she breathed her last.

Apropos nothing seems amiss in her story.

The child got the best treatment available, and for her parents, belonging to Jain community, money was never a problem.

Despite all these relevant details, it is rather difficult to forget or disremember the past few hours of her life when she was still alive, when she must have been in tremendous pain and the way she was made to undergo some ritual to ‘improve her next birth’ — as impressed upon her parents by their spiritual leader.

We learnt that instead of hospital bed, where she should have been given palliative care, the child was shifted to the ashram of one Maharaj, a Jain monk, who had convinced his gullible disciples – her parents – to opt for Santhara “to decrease her suffering and improve her next birth”.

And these young IT professionals, barely in their 30s, had no qualms in shifting their dying daughter to the ashram, despite knowing full well that she was in tremendous pain and any sudden change would exacerbate her death. [ Read the full article here : https://www.newsclick.in/why-3-year-old-childs-death-will-haunt-us-long-time]

Culture, Democracy, Media politics, Politics

Axom Nagarik Samaj Condemns the Attacks on Independent Media Platforms

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The following is a statement issued by AXOM NAGARIK SAMAJ

Axom Nagarik Samaj condemns the banning of independent media platforms

Guwahati, 10 May: The terrorist attack at Pahalgam was an act of cowardice. To retaliate this the Indian armed forces conducted the ‘Operation Sindoor’ and destroyed several terrorist establishments inside Pakistan. Indian public and political parties irrespective of their ideological affiliation stood solidly behind our armed forces. It goes without saying that the national security of the country is of paramount importance. There shouldn’t be any let up in it. However, on the pretext of escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan there shouldn’t be any curtailment of freedom of expression which is a fundamental right. But unfortunately government of India has done exactly that by banning and blocking ‘4pm’ News Network, the YouTube channel of Punya Prasun Bajpai and ‘The Wire’. These are all truth speaking, independent and trust worthy media platforms. In the time of war mongering, spreading of fake news and falsehood by most of the mainstream electronic media, they tried to report and inform public objectively and truthfully. These platforms are manned by best of professional journalists in the country. What government has done is nothing but gagging of the independent media which is utterly harmful for a democracy. We condemn this and demand that the banning and blocking of all the three media platforms are withdrawn immediately. 

Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, President,

Paresh Malakar, General Secretary 

Axom Nagarik Samaj

Capitalism, Debates, Decolonizing Theory, Democracy, Empire/ Imperialism, Scams

‘The Old is Dying’ – Notes on the Global Crisis of Democracy

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Reflecting on what he called the “crisis of authority” or the “crisis of hegemony” from inside Mussolini’s prison, Antonio Gramsci had observed,

“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” (Selections from the Prison Notebooks, International Publishers, 1971, p. 276)

Reduced by Slavoj Zizek to a meaningless tweet that substitutes the last part with his own pop culture expression “now is the time of monsters”, it has become a kind of substitute for thinking what the crisis actually is all about.

Gramsci in fact, was hardly talking about pop culture “monsters”. He was thinking about a very new phenomenon of his time but which has become far more serious today – the crisis of the political party. The crisis of hegemony is tied in his above reflections, to the fact that “the great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies and no longer believe in what they used to believe previously etc.” (SPN: 276)

Continue reading ‘The Old is Dying’ – Notes on the Global Crisis of Democracy →
Democracy, Government, Politics

Condemn censorship – The Wire’s website blocked

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Citizens of a democracy have the right to information even during times of conflict and war. The Wire has been one of the few news news portals left over these years of state repression, that has stood firm, carrying out this responsibility ethically and courageously.

Today the Editor Siddharth Varadarajan issued a statement on the blocking of access to The Wire by the government of India.

While television channels ignite themselves with mindless jingoism and bloodthirsty rants, even irresponsibly carrying out real time coverage of operations putting lives of armed forces and civilians in danger, what has been banned? The news portal that has seriously and quietly carried out the task of purveying information and analysis, in this difficult time.

A strong statement has been issued by DIGIPUB News India Foundation, of which The Wire is a founding member, and the declared objective of which is to “help ensure the creation of a healthy and robust news ecosystem for the digital age. “

The statement reads:

DIGIPUB strongly condemns the blocking of The Wire’s website
DIGIPUB’s founding member The Wire has released a statement on Friday, May 9 stating that the access to their website has been blocked by some Internet Service Providers following government orders. One of the ISPs says the block has been done by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the IT Act, 2000.
If the Indian government has indeed blocked access to The Wire, then it is a blatant attack on press freedom. Silencing independent media doesn’t protect democracy—it weakens it.
This is a critical time for the nation and such actions impede rational thinking. The urgency and horrors of battle cannot be used as an excuse to silence independent journalism.
A free media is the best antidote to misinformation and fake news, DIGIPUB strongly condemns this attempt to suppress journalism. We demand the immediate reversal of such censorship, the orders for which have not even been made public. The Indian Government must uphold constitutional values of free speech and restore unrestricted access to independent media—democracy cannot survive in silence.

As a collective, Kafila stands in solidarity with The Wire and calls upon all democratic forces and voices to speak up against censorship, to stay calm and united for peace, and to reject and resist the bloodthirsty politics that has brought the region to the edge of catastrophe. We join our voices with other citizens of Southasia calling on both governments to de-escalate tensions, turn decisively towards diplomacy and ensure peace in the region.

Debates, Democracy, Islamophobia, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Is an All-India Plan Underway to Foment Communal Conflicts?

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President Rajendra Prasad had written to Sardar Patel, flagging cases of Hindutva activists dressing as Muslims to foment communal trouble. That trend continues.

“…I am told Hindutva activists have a plan of creating trouble. They have got a number of them dressed as Muslims and looking like Muslims who are to create trouble with the Hindus by attacking them.. …The result of this kind of trouble amongst the Hindus and Muslims will be to create a conflagration.’’

[Extracts of a letter, written by Dr Rajendra Prasad on March 14, 1948, cited in Nehru-Patel: Agreement within Differences, Select Documents and Correspondence, edited by Neerja Singh, Page 43]

‘How Hindutva activists plan to foment communal trouble?’

It was the year 1948 and Dr Rajendra Prasad, who later became the first President of India, wrote a letter to the first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, about the plan of Hindutva activists to foment trouble in the newly independent country. As per reports that he had received from different sources, Prasad wrote how these Hindutva supremacists get dressed up as Muslims and ‘looking like Muslims’ create trouble with Hindus by attacking them.’

Much time has passed since the time letter was written, but every now and then, this template, created and developed by Hindutva Supremacist formations during the Partition violence and later, is active with the aim to communalise and polarise the society further. [ Read the full article here : https://www.newsclick.in/all-india-plan-underway-foment-communal-conflicts]

Culture, Debates, Theory

Indianity and Modernity : Dr Ravi Sinha

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[ YouTube links of Ravi Sinha’s Informal talk in Lucknow in April 2025 on “Indianity and Modernity”.  Credits to Kumar Sauvir for recording, editing and posting. The title and intro are also by him ]

[ Ravi Sinha is an activist-scholar who has been associated with progressive movements for around five decades. Trained as a theoretical physicist, Dr. Ravi has a doctoral degree from MIT, Cambridge, USA. He worked as a physicist at University of Maryland, College Park, USA, at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and at Gujarat University, Ahmedabad before resigning from the job to devote himself full time to organizing and theorizing. He is the principal author of the book, Globalization of Capital, published in 1997, co-founder of the Hindi journal, Sandhan, and one of the founders and a leading member of New Socialist Initiative.]

Capitalism, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Theory

Class, Inequality, and the Current Political Moment in China and India : Prof Vamsi Vakulabharanam

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Democracy Dialogues Series 39

Organised by New Socialist Initiative

Theme : Class, Inequality, and the Current Political Moment in China and India

Speaker : Prof Vamsi Vakulabharanam

Co-Director of the Asian Political Economy Program and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Live streamed at Facebook ( facebook.com/newsocialistinitiative.nsi).
———————————-

Theme: Class, Inequality, and the Current Political Moment in China and India

This talk is based on a recently published book by the Oxford University Press – Class and Inequality in China and India, 1950-2010. China and India have seen a significant revival over the last three decades in terms of their place in the world economy. Two and a half centuries ago, they contributed 50 percent of the world output; after suffering a decline thereafter, their share fell to a paltry 9 percent in 1950 but has since resurged to over 25 percent today. Their growth and inequality experiences diverged for three decades following India’s independence (1947) and the Chinese revolution (1949). Thereafter, there are remarkable underlying similarities in the experiences of both countries, especially in terms of their rising inequality patterns analyzed through a class lens. Vamsi demonstrates that the mutual interconnectedness between Chinese and Indian growth and inequality dynamics and the transformation and evolution of global capitalism is key to understanding the within-country inequality dynamics in both countries over the 1950-2010 period. Based on this analysis of class-based inequalities, Vamsi reflects on the current political moment in both countries, from a political economy perspective.

Speaker : Prof Vamsi Vakulabharanam
Vamsi Vakulabharanam is Co-Director of the Asian Political Economy Program and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has previously taught at the University of Hyderabad (2008-14) and the City University of New York (2004-07). His recent research focuses on inequality in India and China and the political economy of Indian cities through the axes of gender, caste, class, and religion. In the past, he has also worked on agrarian change in developing economies, agrarian cooperatives, and the relationship between economic development and inequality. Vakulabharanam was awarded the Amartya Sen award in 2013 by the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Capitalism, Debates, Ecology/Environment, Education, Government

L’affaire UoH – How much land does a university want? Nithin Jacob Thomas

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Guest post by NITHIN JACOB THOMAS

Recently, the students of the University of Hyderabad were protesting the Telangana state government’s bulldozing of 400 acres of ecologically vibrant, species-rich land within the university, undertaken as a preparatory step to auction it off. The state government sought to quell the protest by force, asserting that the land does not belong to the university and that it is within its rights to auction it. However, the Supreme Court has intervened and stayed the activities for the time being. Ego-bruised by the setback they have faced at the hands of the campus community, the Telangana government has now proposed that the entire 2300 acres of the university be turned into an eco-park, uprooting the campus in toto to a hundred-acre campus on the city’s outskirts.

Kancha Gachibowli forest, image courtesy The Hindu

Strangely, the university has not secured legal rights for the land it has occupied for several decades. However, the emphasis in the following note is on an aspect of the protest that lies beyond the legal dispute over ownership. It rather seeks to articulate the inarticulable—why the preservation of the ecology of these 400 or 2300 acres is not a standalone question but one that co-constitutes the very question of preserving the university itself.

Continue reading L’affaire UoH – How much land does a university want? Nithin Jacob Thomas →
Capitalism, Centre watch, Culture, Debates

Can Extradition of Tahawwur Rana Bring Closure to 26/11 Terror Attack?

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David Headley remains inaccessible in the US, and so do the masterminds in Pakistan.

The extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India to face trial for his role in the 26/11 terror attack is big news in the media. One can sincerely hope that with the arrest of only the second suspect to face trial for the 26/11 attacks – the first one was Ajmal Kasab – we can unearth other critical links in the conspiracy, role played by the terrorist groups and the support the whole operation received from the Pakistani establishment or its deep state.

Of course, it will be rather premature to assume that this arrest can bring a closure to the dastardly 26 /11 terror attacks. We are yet far away from the possibility of the mastermind of the attack – Hafeez Saeed and his accomplices – facing trial in Pakistan or being extradited to India.

There is no clue yet whether David Headley, a close friend of Tahawwur Rana, who is called the main conspirator of the operation would ever face trial in India. In fact, it is still a mystery how and why the US entered into a plea deal with him – promising him that he will not be extradited to India.

[ Read the full article here : https://www.newsclick.in/can-extradition-tahawwur-rana-bring-closure-2611-terror-attack]

Democracy, Feminism, Government, Left watch, Public health

Open Letter to the Members of the Indian Association of Women’s Studies

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Dear Colleagues

I am writing to you about the dire situation in Kerala with reference to the strike of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association for minimum wages and a five-lakh one-time retirement benefits, which has been continuing since the past two months.

Continue reading Open Letter to the Members of the Indian Association of Women’s Studies →
Democracy, Identities, Islamophobia, Religion, Right watch

We are No One – নির্বাচনের প্রাক্কালে পশ্চিমবঙ্গের মুসলমান : Sadique Hossain

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Guest Post by SADIQUE HOSSAIN

[The following post by writer Sadique Hossain highlights the way in which with approaching state elections, Bengal’s Muslims are being increasing forced into silence, as contending political parties, especially the CPI(M) and the TMC, stake out their respective agendas. While the stance of all parties is telling, that of the Left is particularly myopic, argues Hossian. AN ]

2026-এ পশ্চিমবঙ্গে বিধান সভার নির্বাচন হতে চলেছে৷ বাকি প্রায় দশ মাস৷ কিন্তু এখন থেকেই মুখ্য দলগুলো তাদের ন্যারেটিভ কী হতে পারে – তা প্রায় স্পষ্ট করে দিয়েছে৷ তারা দৃশ্যত রমজান মাসটিকেই বেছে নিয়েছিল ভোটের দামামা বাজানোর কাজে৷ 

ইদের কিছুদিন আগে সেটা শুরু হল বিজেপির বিধায়ক শুভেন্দু অধিকারীকে দিয়ে৷ তিনি বিধানসভার বাইরে ঘোষণা করলেন – বিজেপি ক্ষমতায় এলে তৃণমূল থেকে নির্বাচিত মুসলিম বিধায়কদের চ্যাঙদোলা করে রাস্তায় ছুঁড়ে ফেলবেন৷ তাঁর বক্তব্য ধ্বনিত হতে থাকল বিজেপির অন্যান্য বিধায়কদের গলাতেও৷ ইদের পরেই রামনবমী ছিল৷ মাঝখানে ওয়াকফ বিল পাশ হয়ে গেল লোকসভা আর রাজ্যসভাতেও৷ এরমধ্যে তৃণমূলের হুমায়ুন কবীর শুভেন্দুর কথার প্রেক্ষিতে বললেন শুভেন্দুকে মুর্শিদাবাদে ঢুকতে দেওয়া হবে না৷ এমনকি জোর করে মুর্শিদাবাদে ঢুকতে এলে, দাঙ্গা বাধাতে এলে ভাগীরথের জলে ভাসিয়ে দেওয়া হবে৷ এক্ষেত্রে তৃণমূল অবশ্য তাঁকে থামাতে দেরি করল না৷ শো-কজ করা হল৷ এবং হুমায়ুন কবীর প্রথমদিকে ফোঁসফোঁস করলেও পরবর্তীতে চুপ করে গেলেন৷ 

Continue reading We are No One – নির্বাচনের প্রাক্কালে পশ্চিমবঙ্গের মুসলমান : Sadique Hossain →
Democracy, Government, Identities, Law, Left watch, Politics

No French Revolution Lurking Ahead, Comrade Baby!

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There is a huge difference between democratic struggles outside Kerala, and those which unfold inside the state at the moment. While elsewhere they strive to make democracy integral to the system, in Kerala we are struggling desperately to keep alive, at least, the traces of something that we had, a fairly democratised society and a tolerably responsive state.

Continue reading No French Revolution Lurking Ahead, Comrade Baby! →

DISSENT, DEBATE, CREATE